Jessie Shaw, a junior on the varsity dance team, suffered an injury to her ankle while at dance practice Thursday. The dancer has been seen wearing a boot on her injured foot since then.

“I was doing a front aerial and landed on it wrong,” she said. “I strained the ligaments running from my toes to my ankle.” 

As a result, the injury caused Jessie Shaw to resort to sitting in the stands while cheering on her fellow teammates during Friday’s home basketball game against EdgeWood Jr./Sr. High school, which marked the first home performance of the year for the Purrfections.

“I was really sad about not being able to perform on Friday because that was our first time doing our competition routine in front of a crowd,” Shaw said. “I wanted to be there for that.”

Shaw also explained that while her dance has been what’s taken the greatest toll after straining the ligaments, many other day-to-day activities have been jeopardized, the most prominent being driving. 

“I’m not sure how long I have to be in the boot,” Shaw said. “We’re taking it day by day, but I’m hoping to get back out of it as soon as possible.

By Macie Goldfarb